The Mekong Delta proactively responds to drought and salinity intrusion.

According to forecasts, from now until the end of April 2026, drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta will continue, threatening the lives and production of people, especially in coastal areas. Various sectors and levels of government in Can Tho City and the Mekong Delta region are aggressively implementing numerous solutions to cope with drought and saltwater intrusion.

Actively store water for production.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Nghia Hung, Deputy Director of the Southern Institute of Water Resources Science , stated that in the Mekong Delta, saltwater intrusion increases significantly during the high tide period at the beginning of February in the lunar calendar, with salinity levels of 4g/l penetrating approximately 35-48km inland at river mouths. Coastal localities are proactively operating salinity control structures to limit saltwater intrusion. From the end of March, saltwater intrusion tends to gradually decrease at river mouths. It is necessary to take advantage of water storage opportunities from March 25th to 28th and from April 7th to 14th. During these periods, the tide is low, limiting saltwater intrusion at river mouths.

Residents in coastal areas of Can Tho City are gathering to collect clean water at the city's new water supply point to help cope with drought and saltwater intrusion.

Accordingly, the basic water supply ensures sufficient water for the planned production areas of the localities. However, the dry season flow may increase or decrease abnormally at different times, depending on the operation of hydropower plants in the basin. Therefore, to ensure the safety of production, localities need to proactively implement appropriate solutions to cope with drought and salinity according to the conditions of the region. In particular, the upper Mekong Delta has sufficient water; the high mountainous areas of Tinh Bien and Tri Ton need to proactively store water and use it economically. The middle Mekong Delta (including a part of Can Tho City) has sufficient water to ensure production according to plan. However, in the brackish water border area, it is necessary to proactively store water to ensure sufficient water for the winter-spring crop. In the coastal areas of the Mekong Delta, irrigation systems such as the Go Cong area, Bao Island and An Hoa Island ( Vinh Long province), the coastal area belonging to the Nam Mang Thit system (Vinh Long province) and the Long Phu - Tiep Nhat system (Can Tho city) need to proactively control salinity, store water and use water economically, especially in fruit-growing areas in Chau Thanh, Cho Lach, Mo Cay Bac - Mo Cay Nam (Vinh Long province); the Ke Sach area (Can Tho city) needs to ensure water supply for production…

According to the Southern Institute of Water Resources Science, water storage at upstream hydropower plants in China and at downstream hydropower plants on the Mekong River is higher than in the same period of previous years. Rational operation of these reservoirs will contribute to favorable conditions for agricultural production in the delta during the forecast year. Conversely, abnormal water storage operations could cause adverse impacts. Therefore, localities in the Mekong Delta need to monitor and update water resource forecasts, and proactively implement water storage measures when necessary to stabilize production…

Enhance adaptation

Faced with increasingly severe drought and saltwater intrusion, Can Tho City is urgently implementing solutions to ensure access to clean water for rural residents, while also aiming to increase the percentage of households using clean water to 85% by 2030 (currently, the percentage of rural households with access to clean water is 82.74%, exceeding the target by 0.08%). This includes focusing on definitively resolving water shortages in remote and isolated coastal areas such as Cu Lao Dung, Tran De, and Vinh Chau communes and wards.

As a result, Can Tho City has opened 37 free water collection points, with storage tanks of 10,000 liters or more, to serve households living in scattered areas and areas without a centralized water supply network. In addition, to ensure uninterrupted supply, the City People's Committee has approved the City's Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center to drill 1-2 new wells at each water supply station that is overloaded or damaged. Technical personnel are also on duty 24/7 at the water supply stations to promptly handle any incidents and coordinate with the electricity sector to prioritize a stable power supply for the station's operation.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, in the long term, Can Tho City is determined to strongly shift from groundwater exploitation to surface water exploitation to protect land resources and limit subsidence. In the medium-term plan 2026-2030, Can Tho City plans to implement large-scale surface water exploitation and treatment projects with a capacity of 20,000 m³/day or more in rural areas. In addition to budget funds, the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center will mobilize self-funded capital to upgrade, renovate, and expand the water supply pipeline network with a diameter of up to D1200mm, and simultaneously invest in a modern water exploitation monitoring and quality monitoring system. The Can Tho City Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center is committed to improving the quality of water supply to meet the standards of the Ministry of Health, ensuring pressure and continuity in all situations of climate change, drought, and natural disasters. In addition, policies should be implemented to waive or reduce the installation and supply of clean water for policy-beneficiary households, poor households, and near-poor households, etc.

According to Mr. Nguyen The Lam, Deputy Director of the Center for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in Can Tho City, the city's agricultural sector is continuing to implement the 2026-2030 plan with the goal of increasing the percentage of rural households using clean water each year, aiming to reach 85% of rural households using clean water by 2030. Specifically, in 2026, the city strives to achieve a rate of 83.13% of rural households using clean water. To realize this goal, the Center for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation is developing an implementation roadmap for each quarter, while focusing on improving and ensuring the quality of water serving the people, especially during the dry season and periods of saltwater intrusion.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Nghia Hung stated that the forecast for water resources in the Mekong Delta during the 2026 dry season is above average, with salinity intrusion at an average or below-average level, and the likelihood of slow change. Water resources are sufficient to cover the planned annual production areas of the localities. The peak salinity period in the Mekong River estuaries has basically passed, following the high salinity from March 18-23 and the final salinity intrusion from April 1-4, salinity will decrease rapidly. However, it is still necessary to be wary of unusual water storage at upstream Mekong hydropower plants, which could cause salinity to return further inland. Localities in the Mekong Delta need to proactively exploit favorable water conditions for the 2026 summer-autumn crop; continue to monitor and update forecasts, proactively implement solutions to adapt to drought and salinity intrusion, and ensure water supply in case of unusual operation of upstream reservoirs and hydropower dams…

Text and photos: HA VAN

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/dbscl-chu-dong-ung-pho-han-man-a200480.html